This fall, MC4ME began working with staff at Neutral Zone, a teen center in Ann Arbor, to develop mindfulness-based practices in their organization. In addition to formal training sessions, MC4ME put together a resource guide of short practices for staff to use to help introduce mindful awareness into their activities with teens.

Furthermore, as a follow-up to a full day summer introduction to mindfulness with the Troy School District, MC4ME is now offering an intensive after school training program to their social work staff, counselors and classroom teachers. ​

At the beginning of August, over 175 staff from Troy Public Schools took time out of their vacation to attend a one day mindfulness training provided by MC4ME. There was so much interest that participants were turned away. Stephanie Snider, an elementary school social worker, has been the driving catalyst to bring mindfulness more widely into the lives of teachers and students in the Troy School District.

We are happy to share that MC4ME is partnering with the leadership efforts of Steve Norman responsible for bringing together the first of three summer IBME Teen Retreats to Michigan. The first retreat will be held at Fetzer Institute, July 20-26, 2019 and capped at 22 participants due to venue size. Contact Steve Norman (stevenorman@kentisd.org) to learn more or to become involved in planning, mentoring or recruiting efforts.

Planning has begun to bring IBme (Inward Bound Mindfulness Education) to teens in Michigan during the summer of 2019. Steve Norman, a mindfulness trainer who has attended several of our trainings in the past, is spearheading this effort. He is interested to locate teens who practice mindfulness and want to get involved in the planning of this teen retreat. He also needs assistance in finding a location. Please email him at ksnriver@comcast.net if you know of teens who may want to get involved or if you work with teens and want to help.

On August 23rd at the Michigan League in Ann Arbor, MC4ME will be inviting community and school personnel to gather and share information about how mindfulness is growing and how MC4ME can be of better service to meet statewide needs. We hope this meeting helps us discover ways to support and expand mindfulness capacity in our school communities, perhaps launching local, regional and statewide community networks of practice. We hope you will join us. Further Information will be forthcoming mid-June.​

Winter is the perfect time for inviting silence, reflection and shifting the focus to just BEING. We hope to see you at our half-day retreat of Mindfulness and Self-Compassion held for the first time held in Harper Woods. Consider staying in the afternoon for lunch and participating in a discussion where Grace Helms Kotre will discuss strategies for mindful parenting. Grace is certified mindfulness instructor through Mindful Schools, and developer of a mindfulness preschool curriculum featured in the online Preschool Mindfulness Summit January 22-26. ​

We are excited to have Daniel Rechtschaffencome to Michigan and present a 1.5 dayworkshop on the Five Literacies of Mindful Educationon March 16-17. Drawing from one of his books, the Mindful Education Workbook Curriculum, we will learn how to sharpen our skills to apply mindfulness to children of different ages, populations, and special needs. Daniel Rechtschaffen, is a marriage and family therapist, published author of two books, and founding director of Mindful Education, a mindfulness and social and emotional learning platform for educators. Registerbefore February25th to receive the early bird rate.

In August, 23 participants engaged in a morning of restorative practices followed by a day-and-a-half of learning and practicing specific mindfulness activities for use with elementary and middle school students. The program was enthusiastically received and the ideas shared by the community of learners were equally impressive. We are excited to develop this community into an ongoing network of support. Join us at our November practice retreat, Restoring our Balance: Begin Againand/or attend our meet-up afterward to share how we can grow this work together.